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A BRIEF HISTORY 



OF THE 



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ill ROSS SLAVES, mi 






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ONE-THOUSAND APPLICANTS 



FOR A 



PASSAGE TO LIBERIA IN 1848, 



AN APPEAL IN BEHALF 

OF 

TWO^HUNBRED SLAVES 

LIBERATED BY CAPTAIN ISAAC ROSS. 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF 

Ncto- Yortt ; 

ISSUED BY THE NEW-YORK STATE COLONIZATION SOCIETY, 
From their Office, Brick Church Chapel. 



D. Faiwhaw, Book, and Job Printer, 36 Ann, comer of Nassaiist. 






^i ^ S % 2. 



INTRODUCTION, 



The organization of the Republic of Liberia has 
been followed by a manifest impulse in favor of 
emigration. 

By reference to the Annual Reports of the last 
four years, it will be seen that the American Colo- 
nization Society sent but about four hundred and 
eighty, or one hundred and twenty emigrants each 
year. They were engaged indeed in the purchase 
of territory, the liquidation of old claims, and mea- 
sures preparatory to the independence of the Colony; 
but had emigrants urgently applied they would not 
probably have been refused a passage. 

Immediately, however, upon the completion of 
that important measure, the number of applications 
has increased so as to exceed one thousand for 
the present year. An increase was anticipated, but 
not to the extent that has actually taken place. In 
view of it the >Society made an urgent appeal for 
aid early in the year, and though there is some im- 
provement upon the receipts over those of 1847, the 
augmentation does not keep pace at all with the 
demands made upon them. Already five expedi- 
tions from different ports of the United States have 
sailed for Africa, conveying over four hundred and 
forty emigrants, viz. 

Names. 

The Nehemiah Rich, from New Orleans, 
" Amazon, " Baltimore, 

'' Liberia Packet, " " 

" Col. Havard, " Savannah, 

" Liberia Packet, " Baltimore, 

A number but little short of the total number 
sent in the previous four years having already sail- 



Date 




Emigrants. 


Jan. 


7, ' 


with 


129 


Feb. 


5, 


(( 


44 


May 


11, 


u 


138 


" 


6, 


« 


99 


Sep. 


6, 


<4 


31 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

ed, and the consequent large expenditures admon- 
ish the Executive Committee at Washington, not to 
proceed further, until assured of aid from reliable 
sources. Though so many have been sent, 572 
remain, expecting to go, most of v^hom, being in 
slavery, ask for a passage this winter and in some 
instances present most urgent claims. Among these, 
are two hundred slaves in Jeiferson County, Missis- 
sippi, of the estate of Captain Isaac Ross, who died 
in 1836. 

The Board of Managers of the N. Y. S. C So- 
ciety have resolved to appeal to their wealthy and 
philanthrophic friends in behalf of this estate, and 
for their more satisfactory information, the material 
of the following pages, has been compiled chiefly 
from the African Repository. The little additional 
matter, connective and explanatory, has been pur- 
posely made as brief as possible. 

We earnestly ask a perusal of the pamphlet, 
under a conviction that the history of these people 
will plead eloquently for aid from all the humane. 
The next year's crop of cotton must be planted in 
February, and unless they can leave before ar- 
rangements are made for it, they will certainly be 
delayed another year in slavery, and risk a final 
disappointment of their hopes of freedom. Shall 
not the amount needed for their passage be at once 
forthcoming ? Are there not, among the wealthy of 
this City and State, men who could secure for them- 
selves lasting satisfaction by assuming a fifth or a 
tenth of the sum required? In addition to funds 
already secured, $5,000 would complete the work. 
No time should be lost. Donations will be thank- 
fully received at the Colonization Rooms, by the 
Corresponding Secretary, or by M. Allen, Esq. Trea- 
i^UTer, 51 Wall-street. 

J. B. PlNNEY, 

Corresponding Secretary. 



A BRIEF HISTORY 



THE ROSS SLAVES 



In 1834 the friends of colonization in Missis- 
sippi sent out two worthy and very reputable co- 
lored men by the names of More and Simpson to 
examine Liberia and return with their Report. 

They were highly gratified, and not only made a 
most favorable report, but actually emigrated the 
next year, and are still among the most honorable 
and prosperous citizens of Liberia, 

This gave such an impulse to the spirit of Colo- 
nization, that wdthin a short time several large 
Estates were emancipated in the vicinity of Natchez, 
among these, the large Estate of Capt. Ross. The 
iirst notice of this act of emancipation appeared 
in the African Repository, 1836, May number, as 
follows : — 

''MUNIFICENT BEQUEST. 

*• The Rev. Mr. Butler of Port Gibson, Mississippi, 
in a letter to the New Orleans Observer, gives the fol- 
lowing notice of the liberality of Isaac Ross, of Missis- 
sippi, who died last January. Mr. Ross was an officer 
in the war of the Revolution, and one of the most es- 
teemed citizens of that State. Mr. Butler says — 

"The deceased was the owner of more than 170 slaves, a splendid 
plantation, probably better stocked than any other in tlie State, and 
now an immense Territory lying around * Prospect Hill.' By his Wili, 

1* 



6 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

his plantation will be managed as before during the life-time of his 
daughter, Mrs. Reed, the relict of the late Theo. B. Reed, Esq. who 
died soon after his election to a seat in the Senate of the United States 
from Mississippi. After the event, the servants who are over 21 years 
are to decide by a vote of the majority whether they will go to Liberia 
or remain in servitude. If th* election should terminate in favor of 
emigrating to Liberia, then all the property is to be sold, and the pro- 
ceeds, together with the money realized from the sale of the crops 
since his death, (with the exception of 12 or 15,000 dollars subtracted 
for a grandchild,) are to be expended in the transportation and com- 
fortable settlement of the emancipated in the Colony of Liberia, and 
the estahlishment of an institution of learning in some place of the 
Colony. But if a majority* of his servants, over 21 years, should 
elect the continuance of their servitude, then it is required that the 
entire estate, servants and every thing else, except the mansion and 
some land around it, should be exposed to public sale ; and the whole 
proceeds, with the exception before named, are to be vested in certain 
Irustees, for the endowment of the said institution of learning. 

" I would not attempt to make an estimate of the amount of the 
entire property, of which our benevolent fellow-citizen has made such 
a noble disposition : but I am fully persuaded it will stand among the 
most munificent deeds in the history of our country. 

" Captain Ross hesitated long before he yielded an undoubtmg con- 
fidence to the measures of the Colonization Society ; and that such a 
man should finally give his earthly all to the keeping and for the use 
of the Colony, is high praise to those who knew the character of the 
benefactor. Now, while enemies are assailing, and friends are retreat- 
ing, let us thank God for this instance of the triumph of the cause, and 
take courage. Magna est Veritas et prevalebit, — for if God be for us, 
what matter is it who is against us ?" 

Mr. Butler made no estimate of the property 
but the current report at the time, at the then 
existing prices, was, that if no litigation should 
prevent an immediate settlement of the Estate, the 
lands and moveable property would bring, at least, 

* The above proviso, as will appear by other extracts, was so 
altered, by a codicil, as to permit as many as desired to emigrate, 
to do so, without regard to the action of a majority. 



EMiaPvATION TO LIBERIA. 7 

$150,000, even if, as actually did happen, all the 
slaves should decide to go to Liberia. Of course, 
should any slaves choose to remain, their price 
would have to be added to the above, and increase 
the amount. 

Had the expense of their removal and settle- 
ment been conducted on a scale of liberality as 
great as vras the settlement of fifty liberated by 
Mr. Tubman of Georgia, in which case, fifty slaves 
received 810,000 ; or, as in the case of Mr. Green, 
one of Captain Ross' neighbors, who liberated thirty- 
five in 1834, and gave them $7,000 ; the cost of set- 
tling Captain Ross' people would not have exceeded, 
at $200 each, $35,000; which would have left a 
fund of $115,000 for the establishment of an insti- 
tution of learning in the Colony. 

Tn April, 1836, the Board of Managers of the 
American Colonization Society at Washington, di- 
rected their Corresponding Secretary, Rev. R. R. 
Gurley, to proceed South to promote the objects of 
the Society. He accordingly left the City of Wash- 
ington on a journey to Alabama, Louisiana, Mis- 
sissippi, and several of the south-western States. 

Notice of this journey was made in the August 
number of the African Repository, which, as it ex- 
plains more fully the provisions and object of the 
Will, will be inserted entire. 

-COLONIZATION EFFORTS AND RESULTS. 

*' The Secretary of the American Colonization So- 
ciety, as is known to the readers of this Journal, has been 
engaged for several months past on a visit to the west 
and south-western portion of the Union, undertaken for 



8 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

the purpose of presenting to public consideration, the 
principles and claims of the Institution. This journey, of 
which a more extended account will be given hereafter, 
has thus far been attended with auspicious consequences. 
The class of prejudices against the Society which it had 
been the labor of its southern opponents to create or in- 
flame, Mr. GuRLEY found to exist in no formidable degree 
in Mississippi or Louisiana, and to be accessible to the 
influence of fads ; while on the other hand he was 
cheered by manifestations of attachment to it, warm, ge- 
neral, and effective. It is the expectation of well-informed 
friends, that one or more of the south-western States 
will at no distant day extend Legislative sanction and 
aid to the cause. Meanwhile this probability, however 
encouraging, has not tended to relax the efforts of indi- 
viduals in that region, in some respects so highly favor- 
ed, or to restrain their liberality. The subscriptions 
and collections already obtained by Mr. Gurley amount 
to about SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, of which nearly two 
THOUSAND have been paid. This aggregate, large as 
it is, would have been greater, but for casual circum- 
stances. 

** Among the objects to which the Secretary's attention 
has been directed during his present journey, is the in- 
terest of the Society in some large bequests. In the last 
Annual Report of the Managers, it was stated that only 
a very small portion of its legacy from the late William 
H. Ireland, of New Orleans, had been realized. On the 
21st of June a square of ground in that city, belonging 
to his estate, was sold for $18,500, the proportion of 
which belonging to the Society is upwards of six thou- 
sand DOLLARS, and will, it is hoped, be soon paid. 

" In our May number (^f. Repository, vol. 12, p. 166) 
some account was given of a bequest from Isaac Ross, 
of Mississippi : and a copy of his Will has since been 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 9 

received at the Colonization office. This instrument 
bears date August 26, 1834, and is accompanied by three 
codicils, under the respective dates of October 20, 1834, 
February 24, 1835, and March 16, 1835. Its provisions 
affecting the testators slaves are as follovi^s : He be- 
queaths to a grand-daughter his woman servant named 
Grace, and all her children living at the time of his de- 
cease, unless Grace should elect to emigrate to Africa, 
in which contingency she and her children are to be 
conveyed thither on the same terms with his other 
slaves, mentioned in a subsequent part of the Will. The 
same relative is desired to take charge of and maintain 
comfortably during the remainder of their lives, the tes- 
tator's man-servant Hannibal, and Daphne, Dinah and 
Rebecca, who are sisters of Hannibal. An annuity of 
one hundred dollars is left to Hannibal and one of fifty 
dollars to each of his three sisters just mentioned, to be 
paid on the first day of January during their respective 
lives by the Executors of the Will ; and the option is 
reserved to them of emigrating to Africa, in which 
event the annuities are to become void, and five hun- 
dred silver dollars are to be paid to Hannibal at the 
time of his departure. Enoch, his wife Merilla and her 
children, are to be sent, within twelve months after the 
testator's decease, free of expense to them, to such free 
State as they may select, and then and there legally ma- 
numitted. At the time of manumission five hundred 
silver dollars are to be paid to Enoch, to whom and to 
his wife and children the option of going to Africa is al- 
so reserved. In this event the legacy of five hundred 
dollars is to be paid to him at the time of his departure. 
To his daughter, Mrs. Margaret A. Reed, the testator 
leaves all the yard and house servants attached to his 
dwelling house, during her natural life, or until she shall 
think proper to relinquish the possession of them. He 



10 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

directs that on her death, or such relinquishment, all his 
slaves, of the ages of twenty-one years and upwards, ex- 
cept those already mentioned, and except five othens 
who are named, shall be called together by his ex- 
ecutors, have explained to them the provisions of 
his will, and be invited to determine whether or not 
they will emigrate to Africa, under the care of the Ame- 
rican Colonization Society. Those who decide affir- 
matively* are to be delivered to the Society, to be sent 
thither, and those who decline to emigrate, except the 
slaves already named and described, are to be sold at 
public auction, after one month's notice of the sale in 
Port Gibson and Natchez new^spapers, and with the re- 
striction that families are not to be separated. One half 
of the purchase money is to be paid in cash, the other 
half in twelve months from the day of sale"; and the 
proceeds of the sale, together with any money on hand 
belonging to the testator's estate, after deducting the 
amount necessary to meet expenses and specific lega- 
cies, are to be paid over to the American Colonization 
Society, to be applied in transferring his slaves to Afri- 
ca, and in their support and maintenance when there, 
in such manner as the Society may deem most condu- 
cive to their interest and welfare. Should a man-ser- 
vant named Duke elect to go to Africa, he is to receive 
at the time of his departure five hundred silver dollars. 
The privilege to any number of the slaves, without re- 
ference to their proportion to the whole, of emigrating 
to Africa, is secured by one of the codicilst to the Will. 
That instrument, as originally framed, restricted the 
privilege to the contingency of an election to emigrate 

* They all with one accord decided to go to Liberia, and have 
been, ever since, anxiously waiting for the privilege. E >, 

t The above Codicil is referred to hi the Note on page 6. 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. H 

by a majority of the slaves convened ; and provided, if 
the majority should refuse to go to Africa, that all, with 
the exceptions before mentioned, should be sold, and 
that the proceeds of the sale, together with any money 
on hand, &c. should be paid over to the American Colo- 
aNizATioN Society, to be invested by it in a fund bring- 
ing an annual interest of six per centum, which interest 
it was to apply to the establishment and support of one 
single seminary of learning in Liberia. This fund and 
f^ppropriation of the interest were to continue for the 
term of one hundred years after the testator's decease, 
after which all that might remain was to be given up to 
any Government then existing in Liberia, to be appHed 
by it in the same manner: but if no Government should 
then exist there, such residue was to be given up to the 
Government of the State of Mississippi, to be by it ap- 
propriated to the establishment and support of some one 
Institution of learning within that State. The Executors 
of the Will are Messrs. Daniel Vertner and James 
P. Parker, Dr. Elias Ogden, of Natchez, and Messrs 
Isaac Ross Wade, and John B. Coleman. 

" The Will of Capt. Ross involves great interests 
The slaves who are the subjects of his bounty were 
kept disconnected from those on other plantations, aud 
constitute one great family of one hundred and seven- 
ty persons, who have been treated more like children 
than slaves. They are represented to have no superiors 
among their cast in good morals, industry, and intelli- 
gence. To render them happy appears to have been a 
principal object of their owner. He was an excellent 
planter ; yet for many years, instead of endeavoring to 
Increase his estate, he developed and applied its great 
resources to increase the comforts of his people. Some 
conception of its extent may be formed from the state- 
ment that the crop on it for the present year will pay all 



12 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

the debts, and that it may hereafter accumulate at the 
rate of twenty thousand dollars per annum. 

" Mrs. Reed, the daughter of Capt. Ross, derives from 
bis Will an effective influence on the operation of the 
benevolent purposes which it proclaims. She is a lady 
of large fortune, cultivated intellect, and a heart full of 
noble and elevated sentiments. Sympathising entirely 
in the feelings of her beloved and venerated parent, she 
will not be induced by any personal consideration to 
procrastinate beyond a proper period the consummation 
of his wishes. 

*' Mr. Isaac Ross, Jun. a worthy son of the lamented 
Capt. Ross, has directed by his Will, dated January 19, 
1830, that his slaves on a plantation called St. Albans 
should be delivered into the possession of the American 
Colonization Society, to be sent to Africa." 

On the return of the Corresponding Secretary, 
his Report was made to the Board, and published in 
the November number, from which we extract so 
much as relates to the Ross Estate, as follows : 

"At Prospect Hill, nine miles from Port Gibson, Mis- 
sissippi, the seat of the late Capt. Ross, the Secretary 
had the pleasure of conferring with his very intelligent 
and high-minded daughter, Mrs. Reed, on the subject of 
the great and humane purposes contemplated in the tes- 
tament of her venerated father. — The provisions of the 
Will of Capt. Ross are before the public. The Will di- 
rects, that, should his slaves choose to emigrate to Libe- 
ria, his entire estate, after deducting some small legacies, 
shall be sold, and the proceeds thereof applied to their 
benefit in Africa. But that, should they decline to go 
to Liberia, they, together with the estate, shall be dis- 
posed of, and the proceeds be a permanent fund entrusted 
loathe Colonization Society, the interest of which shall 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 13 

be applied to establish and support a literary institution 
in the Colony. Every thing possible may be expected 
from the benevolent vie^vs of Mrs. Reed towards carry- 
ing into speedy effect this Will, prepared, as she is, to 
make any sacrifice of her personal feelings to the cause 
of humanity and duty. *It is believed, that the relatives 
of the deceased generally concur in the sentiments of 
Mrs. Reed, and that the Executors of the estate will dis- 
charge their high responsibilities with fidelity ayid success. 
This Will involves great interests. Capt. Ross vi^as a 
remarkable man, distinguished for energy, integrity and 
benevolence. His slaves are mostly disconnected from 
those on other plantations, and therefore constitute one 
great family of about one hundred and seventy in num- 
ber, w^ho have enjoyed almost parental care and kindness. 
To render them happy, appears to have been the great 
object of their master. For several years before his 
death, Capt. Ross, though a skilful manager of his estate, 
made no attempt to add to his capital, but developed 
and applied his resources to increase the conforts of his 
people. These people are moral, sober and industrious. 
The income of the estate is estimated at $20,000 per 
annum. Mr. Isaac Ross, (now deceased,) a worthy son 
of Capt. Isaac Ross, directed by his will, that the slaves 
of one of his estates should be placed at the disposal of 
the Colonization Society, that they might be removed to 
Liberia." 

Had these expectations, so reasonable, been ful- 
filled, our present appeal for aid in behalf of " the 
Ross Slaves" had been needless. But they were 
not. It would seem that the three Executors with 

* The italics are ours, made for the purpose of drawing attention 
to the belief and expectations expressed by the Secretary. 

2 



14 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA, 

whom Mr. Gurley had intendews, by some omissioit 
were never qualified to act authoritatively, and that 
consequently the Estate fell into the entire care of 
the only remaining Executor, of the name of Wade, 
who has, with other heirs at law, left no plan un- 
essayed to defeat the Will. 

Legal proceedings contesting the validity of the 
Will were commenced and prosecuted to the high- 
est Court of the State, wdth all the delays incidental 
to so important a suit. The highest legal talent 
was employed to defend the Will, and happily suc- 
cessfully in every Court until it was established. 
While this suit was in progress, Mrs. Reed, the lady 
mentioned in Mr. Gurley's Report, died. Pained and 
aggrieved by the course pursued relative to her 
father's Will, she avoided a similar result by be- 
queathing her own slaves to the Rev. Z. Butler of 
Port Gibson, and Dr. Stephen Duncan of Natchez: 
who after sustaining a legal contest, brought by the 
same parties, and having successfully defended the 
Will, generously gave the slaves their liberty and 
sent them to Africa, where they are now comfort- 
ably settled. 

The Ross slaves were not so fortunate: After a 
successful vindication of their right to freedom, by a 
decision of the Supreme Court sustaining the Will, 
they were doomed to years of delay by an expost 
facto law, which the heirs expectant had influence 
enough to get passed through the Mississippi Legis- 
lature. Of the character of this transaction and the 
circumstances which marked the beginning, we 
have a vivid account in the following extract from 
the African Repository for April, 1842, page 97. 



SMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 15 

The article speaks for itself, and it is only necessary 
to add, that under pretence of this law, or of one of 
a similar purport, an action was begun on the part 
of the litigants to have the slaves denied their liber- 
ty, and that in the expenses incidental to the pro- 
tracted struggle, ail the available earnings of the 
slaves have been consumed. But now for the ex- 
tract. 



^'ATTEMPT TO DEFEAT LAW, JUSTICE 
AND BENEVOLENCE. 

*' We have of late so repeatedly had our feelings 
of moral justice and equity shocked, at the open and 
undisguised efforts to uproot the foundations upon 
v/hich all the rights of individuals rest, in this coun- 
try of laws, that we are hardly surprised at any 
new demonstration of the recklessness of principle 
which may be exhibited. Our abhorrence of these 
disorganising acts is, however, in no wise dimin- 
ished by their frequent recurrence ; and we believe 
that we are lending our aid to the cause of virtue 
and constitutional right whenever we expose, in 
their true colors, and denounce, in appropriate lan- 
guage, these malign influences. 

" It is with this view that we have given, through 
our publication, as wide a diffusion as was in our 
power, to the honorable and manly paper which 
bears the signature of Dr. Ker. It details, with suffi- 
cient minuteness, the circumstances of the case 
which gave rise to this publication ; and we cannot 
withhold, at this period, when dereliction from prin- 



16 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

ciple is so common as scarcely to create surprise at 
any new manifestation of it, om- expression of gra- 
tification at the manliness which it indicates. We 
congratulate the State of Mississippi that she has so 
many sons who have the disposition and ability to 
arrest an attempt, on the part of the Legislature, to 
prostrate private rights which have been recognised 
and sanctioned by the highest judicial decisions, and 
to treat as it deserves, the annunciation that 500 
men *are pledged, and ready to prevent' the full 
administration of the laws of the land. Truly, the 
spirit of anarchy is stalking with a bold front in our 
land, when Uhe people have been called upon to 
rise up and put the laws at defiance ;' when ' calls 
have been made upon the Legislature to usurp 
power not granted to them by the people in the 
Constitution, to annul the solemn decrees of the 
Courts — to wrest from the hands of the citizens, 
property which has been devised to them under the 
laws of the State.' 

" Among the names of those who have arrayed 
themselves upon the side of the Constitution, and 
the highest and best interests of the country, we re- 
joice to perceive those of men whom we have long 
been accustomed to honor and esteem. We rejoice, 
that in one branch of the Legislature a sufficient 
number has been found to stem effectively the tor- 
rent which threatened to involve the sacred rights 
of individual property, and the barriers which the 
Constitution had erected for their protection, in one 
common ruin. 

" We invoke the earnest, the solemn attention of 
our readers, of all descriptions, and of all political 



£ MIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 17 

opinions, to the 'history' wc have given for their 
perusal ; and our earnest prayer to Heaven is, that 
their minds may be so illumined with the rays of 
religious patriotism, as to view the subject in the 
way in which it ought to be considered, and to per- 
ceive, in time, the frightful precipice to which such 
men, and such principles as are held up to our notice, 
are leading our beloved country. 

" Dr. Ker has not only, for many years past, ren- 
dered great services to the cause of African Colo- 
nization, and, with the gentlemen to whom his letter 
is addressed, contributed liberally to its treasury, 
but has shov/n a resolution and consistency in de- 
fending the Laws and Constitution of the country, 
not to be shaken. 



" CORRESPONDENCE. 

''Natchez, Decemher 10, 1841. 

'• Dear Sin: — We are informed that during the last Session of tlic 
Legislature, an attempt was made to legislate upon rights, resulting 
from the last Wills of Captain Ross and Mrs. Reed, of Jciferson County. 
We know that a suit has been prosecuted through the courts, (the on- 
ly competent tribunals.) against the validity of these wills. We know 
that they have been sustained by the Chancellor, and that his decision 
has been affirmed by the High Court of Errors and Appeals. We, (if 
we have been correctly informed,) deem any such attempt at legisla- 
lation to be an assumption of powers not granted to the Legislature ; 
a gross and dangerous violation of private rig'nts. We conceive that 
every citizen of the State is deeply interested in a knowledge of the 
facts, in relation to proceedings so extraordinary, so unconstitutional, 
and so subversive of the foundation of a Government of Laws. 

" The relation in which you stood to us, aud the other citizens of this 
County, as our Senator, when, as we are told, these measures were 
originated in the Legislature, we presume, gives us authority to make 
this call upon you for such a statement, for the information of the pub- 



18 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

lie, as you may deem necessary for a full and correct understanding 

of the subject. 

" We are, sir, with great respect, your obedient servants, 
W. C. Conner, John F. Gillespie. 

William Dunbar, James A. Gillespie, 
John Hutchins, Israel P. Smith, 

John S. Mosby, James H. Mitchell, 

J. Railey, Henry L. Conner. 

C. S. Abercrombie, 
"To Dr. John Keb, Linden. 

" To W. C. Conner and others. 

" Gentlemen : — In accordance with the request made to me in your 
letter of the 10th December, I herewith hand you for publication a 
statement of facts relative to the Wills of the late Captain Isaac Ross, 
and Mrs. M. A. Reed, and a brief history of the attempt made during 
the last session of the Legislature to prevent their execution. In doing 
so, I can hardly hope to escape the imputation of evil motives, to dis- 
credit my statements. But I feel the most perfect confidence in the 
truth of all the facts which I allege, and of my ability to sustain them 
before any tribunal. Most of them are well known to hundreds. 
Whilst I feel conscious that I am influenced by no intention of injuring 
any fellow man, either in character or fortune, a solemn sense of duty 
forbids that I should suppress or disguise the truth, whatever may be 
the consequences to myself. 

" RespectfiUly yours, &c. John Ker. 



"A BRIEF HISTORY. 

" During the last session of our Legislature, measures 
were introduced into the House of Representatives, and 
passed by that body, which were evidently intended to 
annul the provisions of the last Wills and Testaments of 
the late Captain Isaac Ross, and of his daughter, Mrs. 
M. A. Reed, both of Jefferson County. These measures 
were defeated in the Senate, but, I regret to say, not 
without difficulty, arising, as I believe, from misrepre- 
sentations by interested and prejudiced persons ; and I 



EMIGRATION TO^LIBERIA. 19 

liave reason to believe that the purpose is not yet aban- 
tloned, but will be renewed. As I conceive this attempt 
to legislate away one of the rights most dear to men, and 
hitherto held sacred, the right to dispose of property, by 
will or otherwise, at pleasure, I must ask your patient 
attention to a brief history of the Wills which it was the 
object of these measures to destroy, after their legality 
and validity had been sustained, at the end of a severely 
contested lawsuit, by the highest judicial tribunal of the 
State. 

'* With the late Captain Isaac Ross, as well as his 
daughter, Mrs. Reed, I had the honor of a personal ac- 
quaintance for more than twenty years before the death 
of the former. To those who enjoyed his acquaintance, 
it would be superfluous for me to say that no man could, 
sustain a higher character for unsullied probity and 
honor; or for vigor, energy and independence. His 
character was formed in the battle-fields of his country 
during her war for liberty and independence. By his 
subsequent industry and energy he acquired a large for- 
tune, much of which, during his life, he dispensed in the 
liberal settlement of his children. In August, 1834, he 
made his will after long deliberation, and in unques- 
tioned sanity and vigor of mind — providing that most of 
his slaves should have the privilege of being sent to 
Liberia, in Africa; and that the remainder of his estate 
should be sold, and after paying some legacies, (one of 
which was $10,000 to a grand-daughter,) the proceeds 
to be applied to the use and benefit of said slaves in 
Africa. In October of the same year, in February, 
March and June, 1835, and in January, 183G, he made 
a^ many different codicils, modifying slightly, but all sus- 
taining the main provisions of the Will. These circum- 
stances are stated to corroborate what I allege upon my 
own responsibility, that he had long intended to make 



so EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

the disposition of his property for which the Will pro- 
vided. This is the more proper, inasmuch as great pains 
have been taken to make the impression, that the Will 
was made in the immediate prospect of death, and under 
,the influence of * priests and fanatics.' The truth is, he 
counselled with no priest or clergyman, and no man was 
ever more free from the influence of that class of men, 
or of any description of fanaticism. His slaves (at least 
most of them) had long labored with and for him, and 
they felt in a high degree the mutual attachment which 
is not uncommon in the South between master and slave, 
and which ought to put to shame the slanders of ignorant 
or wicked Northern fanatics. He ardently desired to 
provide for their welfare and happiness after his death. 
It is not for others to determine whether the plan he 
adopted was wise or unwise. He believed he had an 
unquestionable right to make such disposition as he 
pleased of his property, not inconsistent with the rights 
of others, and the laws of his country. He was rather 
hostile, than otherwise, to religion, or at least to the 
creeds taught by any of the prevailing Christian deno- 
minations ; and although kind and hospitable to clergy- 
men, and all others, who visited his house, he was far 
from being influenced by any one. Even the Eev. Mr. 
Butler, who, from having been a class-mate in college 
with a son of Captain Ross, had visited and become in- 
timate in the family, had never been in any way consulted 
by him relative to his Wi}ll 

" Captain Ross died in January, 1S36. By the provi- 
sions of one of the codicils, he had left to his daughter, 
Mrs. Reed, the possession and use of his residence, and 
other property, during her life, or as long as she might 
choose; and provided for the postponement of the prin- 
cipal provisions of the Will until her death, or such lime 
as she might previously determine. Before her death, 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 21 

she had ample proofs of the determination of some of the 
heirs at law of her late venerated father, to dispute the 
validity of the Will, and to defeat the main objects of 
the testator. Her filial piety w^as deeply wounded, and 
her indignation strongly excited by this intention ; and 
fearing that they might possibly succeed, she determined 
to make her own Will in such manner as would, if possi- 
ble, avoid the danger of litigation. She accordingly de- 
vised her whole estate, (with the exception of some small 
legacies,) to Rev. Zebulon Butler, and Dr. Stephen Dun- 
can. Before making her Will, she consulted with neither 
of these gentlemen, whom she also appointed her execu- 
tors. Nor is there reason to believe that she consulted 
with any one, except the legal gentleman, the late Mr. 
Chaplain, whom she sent for to draw up her Will. It 
was not until some time afterwards that Mr. Butler was 
apprised that he was to be one of the executors ; nor 
even then did he know the purport of the Will. He then 
regretted, as he has done ever since, that his dying friend 
would not release him from the duty of serving her in 
that capacity. He could not resist the solemn and affect- 
ing appeals that she made to him when in a dying state. 
She had intended, at a former period, to make a nephew 
one of the executors of a will similar to her father's, but 
the course taken with regard to his Will had changed 
that determination, and embittered her feelings towards 
her relations. She was still further exasperated, by de- 
clarations made to her, that a learned lawyer had given 
his opinion, that she could not make a will, to effect her 
known wishes, that he could not break. To secure as 
far as possible, the principal object of her father's Will, 
in case of its being declared invalid, in which event one- 
third of his estate would be hers by legal inheritance, 
she made a codicil to her Will, devising to Dr. Duncan 
and Mr. Butler her portion of her father's estate. She 



S^ EMIGHATION TO LIBEEIA. 

doubtless believed that in that case these gentlemen 
would have power to dispose, without controversy, of 
this property as they pleased, and that they v/ould at 
least carry into effect the known wishes of her father, 
with reg-ard to such of his slaves as should fall into their 
hands by virtue of her Will. It is also probable that 
she expected from them a similar disposition of her own 
slaves, as she left, at her decease, a letter addressed to 
them, stating that she had intended to make a will similar 
to her father's, but that having been informed that such a 
will might be declared invalid by the Courts, she had 
made another will and left them her executors. Soon 
after the decease of Mrs. Reed, a suit was brought in 
the Chancery Court to defeat both her Will and that of 
her father's. The Chancellor's decree sustained both 
Wills. An appeal was taken to the " High Court of Er- 
rors and Appeals," and there, after elaborate arguments, 
the Chancellor's decree was affirmed. The ground on 
which the Wills were contested, was {assuming that the 
devise to Dr. Duncan and Mr. Butler was a trust, for 
the real purpose of emancipating the slaves,) their al- 
leged * contravention of the laws and policy of the 
State,' in regard to the manumission of Slaves. The 
Courts decided that the laws and policy of the State, as 
opposed to manumission, except by legislative consent, 
had no application to a will providing for the removal of 
slaves beyond the limits of the State for the purpose of 
manumitting them — the object of the law referred to, 
having been only to prevent an increase of free negroes 
within the limits of the State. By the law, no citizen 
could manumit his slave or slp-ves within the State, ex- 
cept in specified cases, and by legislative action. But no 
shadow of doubt could exist, that any citizen possesses 
the right (which cannot be taken from him even by law) 
to remove his slaves from the State for the purpose of 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA, 23- 

setting them free, or any other, at his pleasure. Nor 
until recently was it ever doubted that the right exists, 
in every one, to provide by will for the removal of his 
slaves from the State after his death, without question of 
his motive or object. Several wills of this nature have 
been made and executed in this county without even a 
question of the right, without allegation of their contra- 
vening the laws and policy of the State, and without 
even a suspicion that they were calculated to disturb, oi' 
that they had disturbed the peace or safety of society in 
the relation of master and slave. And in reference to 
the charge of religious or fanatical influence in dictating 
the many wills which have provided for the transporta- 
tion of slaves to Africa, it is a remarkable fact, that so 
far as I know, in every case of such testamentary provi- 
sions, the testator has not been a professor of religion, 
but on the contrary, some of them have been decidedly 
hostile to every known Christian sect. 

** Having, as briefly as possible, stated the facts in re- 
lation to these Wills, I am now prepared to give you the 
history of the most extraordinary attempt at legislation 
which has ever occurred within my knowledge. 

" On the 10th day of January, during the last adjourned 
session of our Legislature, the following resolution was 
passed by the House of Representatives, and sent to the 
Senate for concurrence : 

** ' Whereas, it is provided by the laws of this State, 
that no citizen thereof shall, by his or her last will or 
testament, manumit or set free his or her slaves, except 
by the Legislature of this State, evidenced by a special 
act for that purpose passed; and whereas, Isaac Ross 
and Margaret A. Reed, late citizens of the County of 
Jefferson, in this State, did, by their last Wills and Tes- 



24 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA, 

laments, attempt, directly and indirectly, to manumit up- 
wards of 300 slaves, belonging to them at the time of 
their decease, for the purpose of colonizing them in 
Africa, or elsewhere ; and whereas, it is contrary to the 
settled policy of this State, and of dangerous example to 
the slaves thereof, to encourage or permit their manu- 
mission under the circumstanced aforesaid, 

" ' Therefore he it resolved, hy the Legislature of the 
State of Mississippi, That they will not consent to the 
manumission, either directly or indirectly, of the slaves 
mentioned in the last Wills and Testaments of the said 
Isaac Ross and M. A. Reed, nor will they consent to the 
transportation of said slaves to Africa or elsewhere, for 
the purpose of being there manumitted.' 

** On the 3d day of February, this resolution was finally 
laid on the table of the Senate by a majority of one vote. 

" On the 22d of January, the following bill was intro- 
duced into the House of Representatives, and the rules 
having been dispensed with, was passed, (without a call 
of the ayes and nays,) and sent to the Senate : 

*' * An act declaratory of the laws and policy of this 
State, on the subject of domestic slavery. 

*' ' Section 1. Be it enacted, 8fc. That from and after 
the passage of this act, no executor or executors, or any 
other person or persons, shall remove, or cause to be re- 
moved, the slave or slaves of any deceased person or 
persons from this State, for the purpose of transporting 
such slave or slaves to Africa or elsewhere, for the pur- 
pose of colonization, emancipation, or freeing such slave 
or slaves, under, or by virtue of any will or codicil for 
that purpose. 

" * Sec. 2. Be it enacted, Sfc. That in all such cases, 
when the slave or slaves of any deceased person or per- 
sons shall have been devised in trust, or left to the ex- 
ecutors, or other persons, for the purposes prohibited by 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 25 

the 1st section of this act, that such slave or slaves shall 
descend to, and be distributed among the heirs of such 
deceased person or persons, in the same manner as if 
such deceased person or persons had died intestate. 

** * Sec. 3. Be it enacted, Sfc. That this act shall take 
effect from and after its passage.' 

" This bill having been committed to a Committee of the 
whole Senate, the following amendments offered by Sena- 
tor Tucker, (now Governor elect,) were, on the 3d of 
February, adopted by the Senate, — ayes 16, noes 14, viz : 

'"Amend, Section 1. By inserting after the word 
*' Executors," in the 3d line (of the bill) the words follow- 
ing, viz : " of any last will and testament or codicil, here- 
after made and published," and by inserting after the 
word ** persons," same line, "by authority created or con- 
ferred after the passage of this act." ' 

" The bill with these amendments (which it is obvious 
were necessary to prevent the law from having a retro- 
spective, and therefore unconstitutional operation) was 
passed aud sent back to' the House of Representatives 
for their concurrence in the amendments. The printed 
journals of the House of Representatives show no trace 
of the bill there, except the message from the Senate, 
asking concurrence in the amendments, but on the 4th 
of February it was sent back to the Senate with a mes- 
sage refusing to concur. 

** On the 5th of February, the message of the House 
of Representives was called up, and a strenuous effort 
made to recede from the amendments. But on my mo- 
tion the bill was laid upon the table until the Monday 
following, which was a day after the close of the session. 
This was equivalent to rejection. By joint resolution of 
the two Houses, the session was to close on Saturday 
evening, the 6th of February, at 7 o'clock. 

" Long after 7 o'clock, perhaps 9 or 10, on the evening 
3 



26 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

of the 6th, whilst I was for a moment absent from the 
Senate Chamber, an attempt was made to call up the 
bill. On my return I stated to the Chair, that having been 
' laid upon the table until Monday next,' (a day beyond 
the session,) * the bill could not be called up, except by a 
motion to reconsider,' which could be made only by one 
of the majority who had voted to lay it on the table. It 
was alleged by some Senators that this was not so, and 
the Senator in the Chair (not the President, but the same 
who occupied it the day preceding, when the bill had 
been disposed of) declared he did not recollect. I in- 
sisted, and expressed my surpi-ise that the Chair did not 
remember, as immediately after the vote I had emphati- 
cally called his attention, and that of the Senate, to the 
fact, that the motion which, had just been carried was to 
lay on the table to a day beyond the session. I appealed 
to the Senate. The President (pro tern.) appealed to the 
journal. This had not been made up, and read, as usual, 
in the morning. The Secretary, after looking at his 
notes, at first alleged that it was the ordinary motion 
simply * to lay upon the table.' But when I still per- 
sisted, and moved a call of the Senate, he at length dis- 
covered that I was right. Thus ended, for that session, 
this extraordinary attempt to legislate away the solemn 
decisions of the highest judicial tribunals of the State.* 

" * I cannot but here state a fact, (without attempting to attach 
blame to any individual, for I know not who is culpable,) that the 
printed Journals of the sessions in which I served as a Senator, are 
exceedingly erroneous. To specify an instance or two: In the Journal 
of the House of Representatives, there is no note of any proceedings 
on the 20th January, and yet the House transacted business on that 
day. Again, in the Journal of the Senate, on the 5th of February, 
there is no record of proceedings of the Senate on the above mentioned 
bill, and yet it was, as above stated, taken up, and on my motion, 
after debate, ' laid on the table until Monday next.' And the min- 
utes of Saturday, the 6th, in relation to the action of the Senate on 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 27 

*• Soon after these measures had passed the House of 
Representatives, and whilst their fate was pending in 
the Senate, I addressed myself to a member of that 
House, whom I happened to see in the lobby, and with 
whom I had always enjoyed respectful and friendly in- 
tercourse, and expressed my astonishment to him that 
the House of Representatives could pass measures of 
such a character — striking, as I conceived, at the roots — 
the very vitals of a government of laws and equal rights. 
I scarcely know which surprised me most, the fact of his 
advocating them, or the grounds upon which he did so 
He said, in substance, that ^ if the Wills should not he de- 
feated by ike Legislature, they XBOuld he by violence — 
that every man in Jefferson County icas opposed to the 
Wills, and that 200 men were ready to oppose their exe- 
cution by force of arms, and that lie wished to save that 
county, from the odium or disgrace of such a procedure* 
He admitted that he did not believe that the Legislature 
could reverse a decision of the Courts ; but he wished 
their action upon this subject to exert a moral influence,' 
&c. I confess that I was then, as I am now, incapable 
of understanding how a legislative act, the plain and ob- 
vious import and object of which was to make null and 
void, and to reverse the decrees of the High Court of 
Errors and Appeals, could exert any moral influence. 
Nothing that I can conceive of could be more fatally de- 
moralizing in its effects. 

'' Another highly respected member of the House of 
Representatives denied to me that the Will was intended 
to have any retrospective operation, or to affect the de- 



that bill, does not state the truth. It was not taken up, (although an 
attempt was made to take it up, contrary to all rules,) nor was it on 
that day laid upon the table, as stated by the Journal. It is v.o 
Vight matter that the Journals of the Legislature should be falsified." , 
* This sentence ha« beeu ihdicked by me. J. B, V. 



28 ' EMIGRATION TO. LIBERIA. 

cisions of the Courts. But how can these gentlemen re- 
concile these declarations with the fact, that when the 
Senate made the amendments which rendered the bill 
'prospective only, and deprived it of its obviously intended 
retrospective character, they refused to concur in the 
amendments. If, as the innocent title of the bill pur- 
ported, the intention was hona fide to declare the laws 
and policy of the State for the future government of its 
citizens, why did they not agree to the amendments \ 
But no ! this would not reach the real object, and there- 
fore the friends of the bill would not have it. The prime 
movers of this measure were interested lohhy memhcrSy 
and especially one who had labored hard, but ineffectu- 
ally, in the Courts for a large contingent fee, and who 
was now to be seen, day after day, and week after week, 
in the lobbies of the Legislature, diligently and ardently 
promoting the passage of these measures by such argu- 
ments as he deemed most potent, and which had well 
nigh effected their adoption. 

" But what were the strong arguments used on the 
floor of the Senate to sustain these measures % In addi- 
tion to those already alluded to, I think the most promi- 
nent were the following : 

"1. It was alle^-ed that insubordination existed anion ^ 
the slaves of these two estates, to such an extent as to 
produce great and general alarm in the neighborhood, 
and even lively apprehensions of an insurrection, &c. I 
cannot do justice to the eloquence which was called into 
exercise in the description of the dangers and the horrors 
which impended over this ill-fated neighborhood. But, 
like many other splendid passages of poets and orators,, 
this eloquent description had much more of fiction than 
fact for its foundation. Subsequent investigation has en- 
abled me to say, that on the estate of Capt. Ross there 
never had been the slightest insubordination; and on 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 29 

that of Mrs. Reed, none more formidable than frequently 
occurs from the change of overseer ; and none that was 
not promptly quelled by the energy and resolution of a 
single citizen. But for the sake of argument, suppose it 
had been true, that the negroes were a vicious, insubor- 
dinate and dangerous set. What would have been the 
danger to the neighborhood; or to the State, of sending 
ibem off to Africa] But one of the complaints actually 
made against the executors of one or both of the Wills, 
was, that the negroes had not been iirompthj removed. 
This complaint comes certainly with a bad grace in be- 
half of those who, by bringing a law-suit to defeat these 
Wills, coerced the Executors to incur the heavy ex- 
penses incident to litigation v/hen so large an amount 
v/as involved — expenses amounting to more than thirty 
thousand dollars, and thereby created the necessity of 
detaining the slaves, (even after the termination of the 
suit,) to defray them. They first prevented the possibility 
of removing the negroes, by bringing a suit to break 
the Will, and then charge the Executors with unneces- 
sary delay, because they have to be detained to make 
the money to pay the expenses of the suit. 

** 2. It was insinuated, if not alleged, that the Wills 
were made under the influence of the terrors of death 
and judgment, i nspired by * priests and fanatics,' ope- 
rating U23on minds enfeebled by disease and suffering. 
Much also was said of a similar character, Tliese allega- 
tions, if true, and if they had been proved before the 
Courts upon the trial, might have had some just weight ; 
but unfortunately there is not a shadow of truth to sup- 
port them, and I believe not even an attempt was made 
to prove them. And in the case of Captain Ross, the 
Will itself bears internal and irrefutable evidence of the 
contrary. The privilege intended to be secured to most 
of his slaves was distinctly excepted and withheld by the 



30 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

testator from a portion of them, whom he directed to be 
sold. This proves that it was no death-bed alarm of 
conscience from the abolitionists' sin of slaveholding. It 
is evident that if this had been the feeling which prompted 
the Will, it would have been made to embrace all the 
slaves in the provisions for emigration to Africa. 

" 3. It was alleged of the executors of Mrs. Reed, that 
one (Mr. Butler) was a clergyman, and that the other 
(Dr. Duncan) is a very rich man, and president of the 
Colonization Society. An artful attempt was made to 
identify colonization with abolitionism, and to attach the 
odium which very properly falls upon the latter, to all 
who would be concerned in executing the intentions or 
supposed wishes of the testators in regard to the removal 
of the slaves to Africa. Much was said about fanaticism 
and ' abolitionism in disguise.' I have said that an art- 
ful attempt was made ; because I can scarcely suppose a 
Senator, and especially the principal champion on this 
occasion, so badly informed on the subject as not to 
know that the most deadly hostility exists, on the part of 
the abolitionists, to the Colonization Society, and to the 
object to which (in the language of its constitution) * its 
attention is to be exclusively directed,' viz : ' to promote 
and execute a plan for colonizing (with their own con- 
sent) the free people of color residing in our country, in 
Africa or such other place as Congress shall deem most 
expedient.' The chief difficulty in the way of the So- 
ciety is want of adequate funds. Emigrants are ofTering 
themselves in greater numbers than they have means for 
transporting and providing for. This fact proves that 
the Society could have no motive to persuade masters to 
emancipate their slaves. 

'* The characters of the gentlemen who, without their 
knowledge had been appointed the executors of Mrs. 
Reed's Will, require no defence at the hands of so hum- 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 31 

ble an individual as myself. They are emphatically men 
without reproach. One of them, it is true, is a clergy- 
man ; but this, I trust, can only be a subject of reproach, 
even among those who make no profession of religion, 
w^hen the life and conduct is inconsistent with the pro- 
fession. It is in vain that diligent efforts have been made 
to attach odium to him in consequence of his unfortunate 
connection with one of these Wills, whilst it is impossi- 
ble to deny to him the most absolute disinterestedness. 
Even his accusers unintentionally praise him. Of what 
is he accused ] Of intending or desiring to remove to 
Liberia, in Africa, his own slaves. A will has been made^ 
by virtue of which, so long as there is any law in the 
land, the property, slaves and all, of the late Mrs. Reed, 
have incontestably become the property of Mr. Butler 
and Dr. Duncan. Their title to the property cannot be 
questioned ; and if there was an execution in the hands 
of the sheriff of that county against either of these gen- 
tlemen, it would be subject to seizure and sale to satisfy 
the execution — nor could any legal power prevent it. 
Who will deny that Mrs. Reed had the right to make 
these gentlemen her heirs ? Well, if they had applied 
the estate to their own use, they might unquestionably 
have done so. But because they desire to make a dis- 
position of the property by which they cannot be bene- 
fitted, they are abused and vilified, and even threatened 
with the interposition of force to prevent the execution 
of their intentions. It has been publicly boasted that 500 
men are pledged, and ready to prevent them from re- 
moving their slaves.* 

*' I appeal to you, if this is a mere private contest for 

* I have heard it said that Dr. Duncan actually obtained his portion 
of the slaves by having them run away from the plantation, and secre- 
ted on the banks of the Mississippi until a steamboat was hailed to take 
them on to Louisiana, whence he sent them to Liberia. J. B. P. 



31i EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

property in'which we have no concern. So long as it 
was confined to the judicial tribunals, this would have 
been the case, and public discussion of the subject would 
have been improper. But on the part of those who con- 
tested the Wills, this becoming silence was not observed, 
even pending the litigation in the Courts. Publication 
was made in the newspapers of the briefs of the lawyers, 
and other ex forte views of the case, for no other obvious 
purpose than that of operating, through popular preju- 
dices, upon the Courts. There was nothing in this case 
to justify, or even to apologize for such attempts to cre- 
ate popular excitement. It demanded only the calm and 
unbiassed judgment of the Courts — the only tribunals 
which could legally take cognizance of the questions at 
issue. But after the most full and labored arguments of 
the most able and learned counsel on both sides, the 
high Court of Errors and Appeals, the highest tribunal 
m the State, affirmed the judgment of the Chancellor, 
sustaining the Wills. But, as you have seen, the contest 
was not given up. The people have been called upon to 
rise up and put the laws at defiance — calls have been 
made upon the Legislature to usurp power not granted 
to them by the people in the Constitution, to annul the 
solemn decrees of the Courts — to wrest from the hands 
of citizens property which has been devised to them un- 
der the laws of the State. And shall it be said that you 
and I have no concern with these extraordinary move- 
ments % If we quietly fold our arms and passively ac- 
quiesce in such proceedings, what security, I ask, have 
any of us for the protection of law to our property, our 
lives, or our liberty ] To what purpose have we yielded 
a portion of our natural liberty, in the constitution of 
civil government, if, on the one hand, w^e are compelled 
to submit to the decisions of the established tribunals of 
the country; whilst en the other, in the protection of our 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 33 

rights and property, and perchance of our lives, the same 
authority is to be trampled upon and set at naught ] Has 
it indeed come to this, that the laws of the land are to 
be annulled by one man, or even by 500 men, because 
certain testators did not happen to make their Wills in 
accordance vi^ith their vievv^s, or with public sentiment 1 
Let us not deceive ourselves. Passive acquiescence in 
such doctrines or in such measures is criminal. " The 
poisoned chalice may soon be returned to our own lips." 
We may he the next victim to the ruthless hand of lawless 
usiirpation and violence. 

** I am, Gentlemen, your friend and fellow-citizen, 

*' John Ker. 
"Linden, December 15, 1841. 

"Note. — The above letter was written some time ago, and v.-oukl 
then have been published, but that the writer was informed that some 
legal steps had been renewed in relation to one of the Wills. The pub- 
lication was then suspended. The writer has, however, just seen a 
copy of the 7th section of a bill now before the House of Representa- 
tives, entitled ' An act to amend the several acts of this State relative 
10 free negroes and mulattoes.' This section is so palpably adapted, 
and intended to bear upon these Wills, that he cannot feel at liberty 
longer to withhold the publication. 

''February 1, 1842." 



While the legal proceedings which arose under 
this law were slowly progressing, application was 
made to the Chancellor of the State to appoint a 
Receiver to take charge of the Estate for the A. C 
S. and an order obtained for that purpose. 

Mr. J. Charnbless, a near neighbor of Captain 
Ross, notwithstanding the odiom which such a step 
would excite among a people, where, according to 
Mr. Ker's letter, it was "publicly boasted that 



34 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA/ 

500 men are pledged and ready to prevent their re- 
moving the slaves," had the courage to consent to 
act as Receiver, and actually entered into good and 
sufficient bonds to the amount of 8100,000 for a 
faithful performance of his duties. 

The executor did not give over the property to 
the Receiver. Whereupon application being made, 
the Chancellor directed an order to the Sheriff to 
place the estate in his hands. This order, by direc- 
tion of the Probate County Court, which claimed 
exclusive jurisdiction in the settlement of Estates, 
he refused to execute. 

Complaint being made of this refusal, another 
peremptory order was issued by the Chancellor 
to the Sheriff, which the writer had the privilege of 
placing in his hands. The Sheriff, evidently did not 
know how to act ; in the double fear of offending the 
Chancellor on the one hand, or those on whose fji- 
vor he and the Probate Judge depended for their offi- 
ces on the other. After some time taken for conside- 
ration, he consented to obey the Chancellor, notified 
the Receiver to be ready on a certain day and hour 
at the Plantation to receive them. The Receiver 
got ready, and perhaps anticipating some violence 
or broil, having assembled some of his friends and 
the supporters of law, awaited the coming of the 
Sheriff, intending to accompany him. The day 
passed off and no Sheriff appeared ; but on inquiry 
it was ascertained that as he was starting in the 
morning to obey the Chancellor's orders, lo! the 
Coroner of the County! imprisoned him, as a viola- 
ter of the authority of the Probate Court ! ! 

I fear the above narrative will be considered too 



EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 35 

long, but it seemed impossible more briefly to set 
forth the difficulties which for twelve years have 
deferred the hopes of these poor slaves until their 
hearts are sad with waiting. 

The inquiry very naturally will be, if, now liti- 
gation is exhausted and the Will sustained, why 
cannot the slaves be sent out as Capt. Ross intend- 
ed ? Surely an Estate so large as $150,000, of 
which Mr. Gurley estimated the annual net income 
in 1836 at 820,000, and on which the population has 
increased, in the 12 intervening years, from 170 to 
235 persons, cannot but now be ample both for 
their settlement and for founding the College as pro- 
posed by the Devisor. Ah ! my reader ! think you 
so ! Well the conclusion is natural ; the more so as 
the Executor, meantime, besides sharing largely in 
the expenses of twelve years defeated litigation, 
from having been poor, is now reputedly become the 
possessor and owner of a large plantation, well 
stocked with slaves, in Louisiana. 

But it appears that enormous estate, Capt. Ross\ 
with several thousand dollars cash to begin with, 
has been so managed that it took all the real estate 
and the whole of the present year's (1848) crop of 
cotton to pay off the debts, leaving the two hundred 
slaves destitute of means for their removal. 

Let all who peruse the above facts endeavor to 
realize the years of agony and suspense which they 
have suffered, and then prepare such an answer to 
this appeal for aid as their hearts dictate. 

We need about $5000 more than is yet obtained. 
Let us beg you for a liberal and early response. 

Since the beginning of this year over one thou- 



36 EMIGRATION TO LIBERIA. 

sand names have been placed on the list of appli- 
cants for a passage to Liberia. 

Four hundred and forty have gone in five ves- 
sels ; ^Ye hundred and seventy remain, among whom 
are these two hundred. 

Let us have the means of sending alL Let us 
encourage the growing feeling in favor of emigra- 
tion, and the present age may see many new settle- 
ments on the shore of benighted Africa, from which 
the light of Civilization, Liberty and the Gospel 
shall shine forth, and which shall stand as bulwarks 
against the piratical slave trade- 

Copy of a Resolution passed by the Board of Man- 
agers of the N. Y. tS. C. ^. at a Meeting held 
Nov. 2oth, 1848. 

Whereas, a communication from the Rev. Mr. 
Mc Lain, Cor. Sec, A. C. S. has been received by 
this Board, setting forth the circumstances which 
make a most pressing claim upon their Treasury 
for the transportation of several hundred emancipa- 
ted slaves, in addition to those already sent the 
present year. 

And whereas, a vessel is authorised to sail from 
New Orleans on the 1st of January with about 300 
emigrants, among whom are two hundred slaves 
on one plantation in Mississippi, emancipated by 
Capt. Ross, whose peculiar condition makes a most 
urgent appeal upon our sympathies. 

Resolved, That, if no unforseen impediment 
should arise to prevent their liberty of removal, this 
Board depending upon the liberality of the public, 
to sustain their action, will undertake to defray the 
expense of the passage to Liberia, of the 200 slaves 
of the Ross estate. 



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